


and thus, judge, we urge you to vote affirmation

by anentireidiot



Series: dreamies in high school [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension, debate partners!renhyuck, debate president!johnny, debate vp!kun, i’m projecting Very Hard onto this fic, jeno and doyoung are brothers, mark ace therefore he does Every Event, model un!nomin, red velvet skz and exo cameos, taeyong and hyuck are also brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anentireidiot/pseuds/anentireidiot
Summary: “You did what?” Donghyuck yells. “You guys quit public forum???” At the same time, Renjun says, “Oh my God, Jeno, I trusted you!”Jaemin and Jeno cringe simultaneously. “We’re sorry!” Jaemin says. “It just.. happened!”orRenjun and Donghyuck have had a petty rivalry ever since Renjun lost best speaker to the other. When Jeno and Jaemin, their partners, ditch Public Forum for Model United Nations, they are faced with a choice: either set aside Public Forum, or set aside their enmity with each other. In the process of working toward state competitions together, they find that… maybe they don’t hate each other as much as they thought they did. (Maybe they don’t hate each other at all.)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Series: dreamies in high school [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1832809
Comments: 22
Kudos: 202





	and thus, judge, we urge you to vote affirmation

**Author's Note:**

> i don't think you need to know very much about public forum to read this, but if something doesn't make sense please ask :D
> 
> fun facts:  
> renjun grew up basically everywhere and went to international schools his whole life, so his accent is ambiguously european (somewhat like ten's and yangyang's)  
> renjun's dad is an uber rich tech dude  
> donghyuck has A Lot of cousins  
> jeno plays the bassoon, jaemin's a french horn, and renjun's a cellist. mark is obviously a flutist.

“You did _what?”_ Donghyuck yells. “You guys quit public forum???” At the same time, Renjun says, “Oh my God, Jeno, I trusted you!”

Jaemin and Jeno cringe simultaneously. “We’re sorry!” Jaemin says. “It just.. happened!”

Donghyuck frowns. “Right, so, Taeyong got to you guys.” He pulls Jaemin away.

Renjun sighs. “Come _on,_ Jeno, right before 2A, too? I _know_ you were just dying to debate the ethics of Chinese sanctions with me, right?” he wiggles his eyebrows.

Jeno’s expression grows even more pained. “See, that’s the thing… I already kind of told Johnny and everyone.. and Taeyong’s relying on Jaemin now too…”

The words hit Renjun like a bulldozer. He can’t help but feel a little betrayed. _We’ve always been partners, Jeno, what am I going to do without you?_ “Oh. Okay.” is all he can think to say. A few feet away, he hears Jaemin and Donghyuck talking (arguing?) about what they’re going to do. “I’ll see you around then, Jeno.”

——

**renjun**

doyoung.

your brother is a Fool

**doyoung**

tell me smth i don't know

…

did jeno finally tell you about quitting pf?

**renjun**

yes smh

can’t you convince him to like

not leave??

debate bro to debate bro yk

**doyoung**

i mean

you could just do ld you know?

its really not that bad

**renjun**

says you

three year ld veteran

Renjun heaves a sigh. _Why_ can’t _I do Lincoln-Douglas, anyways?_ Deep down, he knows why- he just doesn’t want to face it. He picks up his phone again to text Jeno.

**renjun**

jeno :(

are you sure you wanna quit

we’ve been partners since we started

idk if i can do pf w/o you

**jeno**

shit jun i’m so sorry

but pf has just been a drag lately.

ik how much u love it

but i dont think id ever be able to match u on that

**renjun**

oh

im just so confused rn

i rly wanna continue with pf

but i can’t do that w/o a partner yk?

**jeno**

well,, i mean,,,

you could always be partners with hyuck

or do ld or smth

**renjun**

istg jeno you /would/ say that

it’s like . donghyuck has never been nice to me

and we’ve had this stupid rivalry since last yr

**jeno**

im gonna stop you Right There

i’ve heard about this so much junnie

just admit that you still have a crush on him

**renjun**

lmao no

i’m sorry that i ever told you about that smh

but i’ll think about ld

——

Donghyuck is officially having a Crisis. Capital C and everything. He tells as much to Jaemin, who laughs in his face. “You know that LD isn’t even that hard, right? You could get Mark to help you out really easily— like, just threaten to expose his crush on Lucas. He won’t risk calling out that bluff.”

Donghyuck screws up his face. “But LD is like. Scary, you know? I don’t wanna be _alone_ while competing.”

“Okay, then, go be partners with Renjun? It’s not that hard, Hyuck, you’re making this more complicated than it has to be. Like, imagine if I was the only one that left— then Renjun wouldn’t even be an _option.”_

“Yeah, but, I’m pretty sure that Renjun hates me. How would that conversation even go? Like, ‘Hey, it’s Donghyuck, I need a partner for PF, I’m too much of a coward for LD, be my partner?’”

“Yeah, Hyuck, it would go _exactly_ like that. Just like, overcome the sexual tension, you know?” Jaemin gesticulates wildly. “You just have to.. _go_ for it.”

Donghyuck scoffs. “Sure, whatever, Jaemin.” But he can’t say that he isn’t thinking about it now.

——

**donghyuck**

hey renjun

how are you doingggg

Renjun stares at the notification, in shock. He texts Jeno: _hyuck just dmed me?? wtf..._ Jeno replies back in an instant: _i knew it go get him tiger._

**renjun**

what do you want.

**donghyuck**

damn ok i see how it is

i had an idea for you

but okay

**renjun**

wait shit no

go on

im listening

**donghyuck**

man wtf

this is embarrassing now

**renjun**

ok lmao

we can talk at school tomorrow

if you’re too chicken to say it now

**donghyuck**

and have the evil twins see us

nah ill take this over that

n e ways

you wanna be partners in pf

Renjun drops his phone onto his chest. _What the hell? Donghyuck Lee just asked to be my public forum partner?? Am I dreaming???_

**donghyuck**

come on man don’t leave me on seen

it was hard enough to ask as it is

like say no i get it

ur still mad about losing best speaker

it happens

Renjun stills with his fingers hovering over the keyboard. Takes a screenshot. Sends it to Jeno with an accompanying _WTF??_

When Renjun lost the Best Speaker Award last year, it didn't mean that much. It was a minor award: didn’t mean much in terms of recognition- didn’t mean much in terms of anything, really. Renjun wasn’t upset because he _lost._ He was ecstatic that Donghyuck had won, if anything.

And then. Donghyuck didn’t keep his mouth shut. Donghyuck didn’t keep that _fucking_ trap of his closed.

Walking out of that shitty high school gym, he’d heard Donghyuck making fun of Renjun’s speaking with Kevin. Donghyuck, after spectating exactly half a round, had the audacity to judge him _and then gossip about it._ Donghyuck didn’t even fucking _like_ Kevin.

Renjun had harbored a stupid crush on Donghyuck and his stupid jokes and his stupid face since the middle of seventh grade. By that competition, pretty much everybody _except_ for Donghyuck knew- Jeno, Yangyang, Jaemin, Mark, Lucas- you name it, they knew it. In that moment of accidentally eavesdropping on Donghyuck Lee and his gossiping, in that moment of hearing Donghyuck make fun of his voice and his nervous lisp, Renjun’s resolve broke a little.

Just a little.

Renjun remembers this, and he replies.

**renjun**

you know what?

fuck you.

yes, we can be partners.

but you can bet your ass that i’ll win best speaker this year.

good night, donghyuck.

[seen]

——

**donghyuck**

jaemin hahhaahhaah

[screenshot attached]

i fucked up

**jaemin**

man i knew you were a dumb bitch

but not /this/ dumb

hyuck wtf

how are you gonna be PARTNERS with him now

**donghyuck**

idek what i did to him

it was a low blow right… but like

i cant apologize now

**jaemin**

sure you can

just swallow your pride

**donghyuck**

right… my pride

did you really think that was gna happen

**jaemin**

no but at least i gave it a shot

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

——

Friday morning debate practice rolls around, with neither Renjun nor Donghyuck ready to face the other. Unluckily for them (or perhaps luckily), Johnny is more than ready for both. “Okay, Public Foruuuum!!” he bellows, way too enthusiastically for 7 a.m. on a school day. “WE are now short two more people!! Jaemin and Jeno, the fuckers, quit on us, so now we have a new partnership!! Everybody clap for Renjun and Donghyuck!!”

There’s an awkward silence that lasts for much too long, finally broken by their advisor. “Johnny, I’m technically not allowed to let you curse at other students…” Mr. Do says.

“Sure thing, Mr. Do-bate, it will not happen again!” Johnny says, unfazed.

“Johnny.”

“Right, yeah, sorry, Mr. Do. Anyways!”

Mark raises a careful hand. “Johnny…”

“Yes, Mark!”

“Are we sure that they-” he gestures vaguely at Renjun and Donghyuck “-are a good pair?”

Renjun and Donghyuck glance at each other, accidentally make eye contact, and look away just as fast.

Renjun breathes in. Breathes out. “Yeah, Mark. We’ve talked about it. We should be fine.”

Mark doesn’t look like he believes them. “I mean, okay…”

“Is that all? Everyone? Okay, folks! We gotta get crackalackin on those cases, they aren’t going to write themselves!”

Mark casts one last worried glance at them. _Are you okay?_ is radiating from every cell in his body. Renjun tries his hardest to say _NO!_ with his eyes. Donghyuck looks dead inside. Mark looks away.

They’re stuck now.

——

**jeno**

so how was debate this morning lmao

**renjun**

i wanna die

DONGHYUCVK ISNT LISTENFING TO ME

**jeno**

uh.

did you like.

expect him to

cause buddy… i have some news for u

**renjun**

NOT THE POINT JENO

we were writing the aff cas this morning

*case

and he WOULDNT SHUT UP WITH THE JOKES

do want to know how many “that’s what xi said” jokes i had to put up w??

**jeno**

lol that’s funny

**renjun**

jenoooooo >:|

are you on my side or his

**jeno**

i kinda wanna say his just to piss you off

but go on..

sPilL thE tEa Sis

**renjun**

stfu jeno ur so annoying

THE FOOL WOULDN’T LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAID RISKS > TRAPS

anyone who antagonizes china loses

**jeno**

lol remember that group that was like

“40 million CHINESE citizens will be pulled out of poverty”

and we were like no wtf???

**renjun**

istg donghyuck’s even more annoying than them

k wait he’s messaging me

i’ll talk to you in a bit

——

Donghyuck picks up his phone. Opens up Instagram.

He hovers over his chat with Renjun.

He puts his phone down. _Do I really want to talk to that asshole? He’s going to be all standoffish again._ The more logical part of his brain responds in an instant, sounding an awful lot like Jaemin: _Yes, you fool, you won’t get anything done if you act so cowardly all the time._

He unlocks his phone again.

**donghyuck**

hey renjun we need to talk

lmao that’s so ominous

**renjun**

what’s up

what do you need

**donghyuck**

yo lmao no need to be rude

who should be first speaker?

**renjun**

lol sorry it’s kind of my personality

Donghyuck frowns at the screen. _No it’s not,_ he wants to retort. _I’ve seen how you are with Jeno and Mark and Jaemin. All I ever wanted was to be friendly with you, not even friends. Is that so hard?_ None of that makes it out of his mind and onto the screen. He glances back down.

**renjun**

anyways

you were second speaker with jaemin right?

then you can do that again

i’ve never been good on the spot anyways

**donghyuck**

lmao i know you aren’t

**renjun**

wtf is that supposed to mean??

you know what?

don’t answer that. i don’t wanna know

see you on monday.

——

“Jaemin, I’m so stupid!” Donghyuck wails from Jaemin’s shoulder.

Jaemin pets his hair gently, ignoring the fact that Donghyuck is practically screaming into his ear. “I know that, baby. What did you do this time?” he asks, nudging his boba towards him.

Donghyuck takes a sip. Chews, swallows. Contemplates. “You’re gonna make fun of me, though.”

“I make fun of you for everything, Hyuckie. You can tell me what happened.”

“You remember how Renjun hates me?” he asks in a small voice.

“Duh. How could I forget, it’s all that—” Donghyucks leans away from Jaemin’s shoulder to clamp his hand over Jaemin’s mouth. “I didn’t ask to be attacked like this, Nana, what the hell.”

Jaemin licks Donghyuck’s palm. “Well, you did ask for advice, which is basically the same thing,” he says, ignoring how Donghyuck is frantically wiping his hand on Jaemin’s jeans. “Did you piss him off again?”

“Yeah.” Donghyuck says. “I don’t even know why he dislikes me that much.”

Jaemin takes an obnoxiously loud sip of his boba. “You probably pissed him off and you just don’t remember. I don’t know, Hyuck, just try being nice to him? If he’s still awful then I really don’t know what to tell you, but like… just set aside your pride for a bit, okay?”

“I mean, okay, I guess.” Donghyuck sighs. “Okay.” He picks up his tea. “I got this.”

——

“I don’t get this, Jeno!” Renjun whisper-yells in AP Euro Monday morning. “Why can’t Donghyuck just write the damn contention already? I’ve literally written 90 percent of the neg case, can’t I catch a break?”

Jeno leans over whispers back: “I don’t know, Renjun. Why don’t you try asking _him_? Mr. Byun is one of the last teachers who still tolerate us and I cannot risk pissing him off.” He leans back over to his desk, muttering something about _too blind to see what’s right in front of them._ Renjun slouches in his seat and picks up his pencil.

——

Renjun runs to catch up to Donghyuck. “You fucker, why do you walk so fast, you’re literally just going home,” he pants, out of breath. Donghyuck slows down and turns to look at him. “Hey, Renjun, what’s up?”

Surprise and shock wash over Renjun’s face, quickly replaced by a facade of indifference. “I think that’s the first time we’ve spoken without underhandedly insulting each other.”

“Right. So. What do you want?”

 _Oh._ Renjun thinks. _Nothing’s changed._ “Oh, it’s really nothing. I was just wondering if you’d _ever_ get around to writing the aff case, or if I’d have to do that myself too.”

Donghyuck’s face hardens. “Don’t worry about it. We have tomorrow after school to work on it together, and I’ll get the rest done by Wednesday. We can have Johnny do some speaking drills with us Friday morning. Okay? Are you satisfied?

“Yeah.” Renjun says stiffly. “Okay.”

——

Friday rolls around. Their cases are done— impeccable, really, because both of them will settle for nothing short of that. The block files are complete, their rebuttals are almost unbeatable, their crossfire questions are pointed. Everything is in place. They’ve debated against every team there is— the freshmen, the more experienced varsity debaters, even Johnny himself.

And even so, something’s still off.

Kun pulls them off to the side, a worried expression barely concealed on his face. “Can I talk to you guys?”

Donghyuck and Renjun share an apprehensive glance with each other. Renjun breathes in. Out. “Yeah,” he says. “What’s up?” _Kun’s the most level headed out of all of us. If he’s worried, then-_

“You guys need to figure out whatever is wrong between you two.” he finally says, interrupting Renjun’s train of thought. “Normally, I wouldn’t interfere, but the tension is palpable. You’re going to scare off every Karen judge in a five-mile-radius.”

Donghyuck smiles wryly. “Isn’t that a good thing, Kun?”

Kun opens his mouth to respond, but Renjun butts in. “We’ll take care of it before the circuit, Kun. I’ll see you later?”

Kun still looks doubtful. He casts a wary glance over the two of them. “Yeah, see you around, Renjun, Hyuck.” He leaves. _Exit, pursued by a bear,_ Renjun thinks, _except the elephant’s still in the room._

Donghyuck opens his mouth to say something. The bell rings. Donghyuck closes his mouth. Leaves.

Renjun thinks to himself, _Pity that I’ll never know what he was about to say._ He packs his stuff up slowly and leaves, propping the door open behind him.

——

Saturday night Donghyuck can’t fall asleep. He paces around his room, reciting the first speech over and over again. He messes with the volume and tone and pitch until he can’t stand to listen to the words anymore.

He sits down. He stands up. He thinks of Renjun. _Is he sleeping right now?_ he thinks. _Will he respond if I text him?_

He picks up his phone. He reads their chat history. He puts down his phone. Sighs. Decides its stupid to fret this much over a _stupid circuit tournament._ He goes to sleep.

——

Three streets down, Renjun is fretting over their competition. He opens his laptop and stress-watches videos on how to get rid of accents, on how to speak faster-smoother-more forcefully- _betterbetterbetter._ He flows round after round of state competitions until the words become meaningless white noise.

He paces. He stills. He thinks of Donghyuck. _Is he sleeping right now?_ he thinks. _If I text him, will he respond?_

He unlocks his phone. Throws a cursory glance at their chat history. Regrets it. Puts his phone down. _It’s just a circuit tournament,_ he sighs internally, _he’d probably make fun of me for still being awake._ He gets ready for bed.

——

Doyoung, Jeno, and Renjun used to carpool to tournaments together. Now that Jeno’s out of public forum, it’s just Renjun in Doyoung’s beaten-up Toyota Camry.

**doyoung**

i’m outside bud

u ready?

**renjun**

yeah i’ll be right out

Renjun slips out the front door, calling a hasty goodbye to his mother. He slips on his dress shoes, grabs his laptop bag, and slides into the passenger seat of Doyoung’s car. “Hey, Jun,” Doyoung says. “You ready for this?” He starts the engine.

“I mean, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Renjun sighs. “God, I feel like a fucking novice all over again… this is literally not my first year, I shouldn’t be feeling this nervous.”

“Yeah, I get it, to an extent. Donghyuck is a new partner, it might as well be your first tournament. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, okay?”

“Yeah.” Renjun leans back. “Have you ever seen anything like this happen in the team?” He turns to look at Doyoung. Doyoung’s smiling fondly, his expression reminiscent. “How do you think me and Johnny ended up as Parli partners?”

Renjun straightens up in his seat. “You guys weren’t always partners?? How come I didn’t know about this?”

“Yeah.” he laughs. “You know Jaehyun? The Model UN co-president?”

Renjun gasps. “Oh my god. No _way._ ”

“Yes way,” Doyoung says, amusement coloring his voice. “We were partners until he ditched me for UN, in sophomore year. It didn’t matter then, ‘cause there weren’t any more parli competitions left that year. And then Sehun, the old debate captain, graduated that June, leaving Johnny without a partner. So here we are, partners by necessity. Just like you and Donghyuck.”

“Except you and Johnny were never sworn enemies.” Renjun leans back into his seat.

“Well, you and Donghyuck weren’t exactly sworn enemies before last year, right?” Doyoung smirks. “Jeno tells me more than you think he does.”

“Of course he does.” Renjun groans. “It’s not even really relevant anymore, though.”

“ _Right._ Well, we’re almost there, can you get the directions to our designated parking lot?”

They park in comfortable silence.

“Renjun. Before we go meet up with the rest of them, I want you to listen to me okay?” Doyoung says as they walk in the direction of their meeting spot. “No matter what happens today with Donghyuck, you’ll be fine. Got it?”

Renjun blinks rapidly. “Yeah. I got it, Doyoung, thank you.”

As the sidewalk thins and more people start moving in the opposite direction, Doyoung falls into line behind Renjun. They walk, and walk, and walk. Renjun thinks, _Damn, I really should have brought my slippers for after comp._ He looks up and sees the rest of their team waiting under their school’s obnoxiously bright pop-up tent.

And then he sees Donghyuck. Hair styled up, dressed in a crisply ironed suit, fiddling with his tie. Glancing around, shifting in his shoes.

Suddenly, _suddenly,_ all of Renjun’s memories from freshman year come rushing back. He remembers his embarrassingly obvious, bare minimum crush on Donghyuck. He remembers exactly what had made Donghyuck so easy to obsess over. _What had made him so hard to get over,_ an annoying voice in the back of Renjun’s mind reminds him.

He stops short. Doyoung runs into him with a small _oof._ “Hey, Jun, why’d you sto— _oh.”_ Doyoung follows Renjun’s gaze to Donghyuck. Renjun whips around and glares at Doyoung, who’s making the human equivalent of a lenny face. “Don’t say _anything._ ” Renjun hisses.

Doyoung’s face grows even more lenny-er. “I didn’t say anything!” he says, fake-offended. “We have to go, anyways, Jun, postings are gonna be up soon. You can have your gay crisis on our lunch break.” They walk towards Johnny and the rest of their team.

——

“Okay, everybody! We gotta take group pictures this time, I think Mrs. Bae almost killed me last time because I forgot.” Johnny yells. _Wish I could project that well,_ Donghyuck thinks. _Except then I’d probably end up screaming in our competition's faces._

Johnny interrupts his train of thought with more instructions. “Partners next to each other please! Youngest in the center, working outwards. Sounds good?” Donghyuck shoots him a thumbs up and begins to look around for Jaemin, before he realizes that Jaemin isn't even his partner anymore. He feels someone tap his shoulder.

“Looking for someone?” Renjun asks, the ghost of a smile on his face. Donghyuck can’t breathe. _He’s so pretty in that suit oh my god I just want to run my hands through his hair-_ “Your hair looks really nice when it’s long,” he blurts out. _What the fuck?_ Donghyuck thinks. _How did that come out of my mouth?_

Renjun looks confused, a bit like a baby fox. “I mean, thank you?” he says, a little shyly. “We should probably-” he jerks a thumb behind him “-get to the photos. I think Johnny’s one step from going absolutely ballistic.”

“Uh, yeah.” Donghyuck says. “We should do that.” He sets his laptop bag down. Renjun grabs his wrist and practically drags him to the rest of the team.

\--

Renjun cannot believe that he just grabbed Donghyuck’s hand. He is holding the hand of Donghyuck Lee, formerly the subject of his infatuation and currently the subject of his dubious hatred. Renjun thinks that this occasion deserves to be written in the history books.

Johnny’s herding everyone together now. “Chenle! Jisung! Get your freshie asses here before I kick you off the team!” he yells. “Donghyuck, Renjun, go stand to the left of Doyoung over there! Sehun, here’re the cameras you need to take photos on.” He hands Sehun approximately 2684 phones before joining the rest of the team in the photo. “Is everyone here? Yes? No? Too bad, I guess. Sehun, _please,_ just put the phones _down.”_ he says to a Sehun struggling with the sheer number of phones.

Sehun picks up a phone. “Say cheese!” Donghyuck throws his arm around Renjun’s shoulders and flashes a peace sign. Renjun stiffens minutely, then relaxes. _oh my god his arms are around me wtf does this count as a hug-_ “Three, two, one!” Sehun counts off. Renjun grins. Donghyuck’s arm around Renjun tightens. Renjun has a minor crisis. Sehun takes the photo.

——

**donghyuck**

nana

you ever see someone in a suit

and they instantly become 2439589x more attractive

**jaemin**

.. isn’t today the pf circuit tournament

don’t tell me you’re thirsting over freshmen

**donghyuck**

NO tf

jisung is my Child

actually

its renjun

**jaemin**

i am torn between clowning you and

saying “i told you so”

so here’s both:

FOOL I TOLD YOU SO

**donghyuck**

you wanna know what i did in the photos today

i practically hugged him

**jaemin**

of course you did

**donghyuck**

jaem… he’s so pretty

i wanna **** him

**jaemin**

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**donghyuck**

KISS

JAEMIN I MEANT KISS

YOU ABSOLUTE MELON

**jaemin**

wtf kind of an insult is THAT

**donghyuck**

i was trying it out

you want more?

i have plenty

**jaemin**

i don’t wanna know

have fun debating with renjun all day, lover boy

——

Renjun startles Donghyuck out of his reverie. “Hey, the dude with the posting papers is coming here, and I think we have picture duty this time. You wanna come with me, or do you wanna stay?”

“I’ll come with,” Donghyuck says. “Might as well get the news together, right?” They walk to the increasingly people-dense ring forming around the postings area.

As the man leaves, the crowd of high-schoolers rushes in. It’s all chaos and Donghyuck’s pretty sure he’s stepped on at least five separate people’s feet in the rush to get close to the posting lists. He turns to Renjun to say something, but then he notices Renjun’s eyes. They’re wide and panicked, and Renjun seems to be shrinking on himself. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Chenle snapping a photo and shooting Donghyuck a thumbs up. He grabs Renjun’s wrist and pulls him out of the crowd.

As they walk away, he asks “Are you good?”

Renjun seems shaken. “Yeah, I’m just really bad with crowds. Don’t know how forgot that before volunteering to get postings.”

“Don’t worry about that, by the way, Chenle got the photo. We’re against Cube this round, first flight. They’re the aff case. Room C201.” They pick up their laptop bags. “You ready to go? You’ll be okay?”

“Yeah, let’s go. We’ve got some ass to kick, right?” Renjun throws a smirk Donghyuck’s way.

“That we do,” Donghyuck works out around a dry throat. _Holy shit, I’m absolutely done for._

——

Donghyuck is an absolute motherfucking god at cross, Renjun learns over the next two rounds. Impeccable weighing. No stuttering, no faltering, no hesitating. Perfectly coiffed.

Renjun’s not going to lie, it’s kind of hot. _It’s just superficial attraction, though. Not infatuation like before._ Donghyuck wraps up his final speech. “And for that reason, judge, we urge you to vote affirmation.” He sets the papers down, a bit like a mic drop.

As they walk out of the room, Renjun brings it up. “You were really smooth in round during cross. Absolutely impeccable questioning. I think we pinned that round, right?”

Donghyuck frowns. “I don’t know. She looked like a lay judge, but if she flowed, then neg might have low-point-won.”

Renjun shrugs. “I mean, what’s done is done. We’ll see what happens when we get ballots back. Wanna get lunch with me?”

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, Young has a fucking food stand, can you believe? These host schools are always rich and private and then they profit even more off of the students who come here.”

Donghyuck glances sideways at Renjun. “Never took you to be an anti-capitalist, Mr. I-Didn’t-Bring-My-Own-Lunch.”

Renjun feels himself grow a little defensive. “I _would’ve!_ I just didn’t have the time this morning, I woke up past my alarm.”

“And you still look like _that._ ” Donghyuck says with a wink and a once-over.

 _holy shit holy shit holy motherfuck sh-_ “That’s greasy as fuck. I don’t wanna eat lunch with you anymore,” he says with a fake-disgusted face. “Sleazeball.”

“Wait, oh great Renjun Huang, let me have the honor of dining with you on this fine—”

“Shut up, Donghyuck. Can you wait in line, though? I need to go to the bathroom.” Donghyuck heads off in the direction of the food tents. Renjun practically sprints in the direction of the restrooms.

After shutting himself into one of the stalls, Renjun texts Jeno:

**renjun**

what are the moral concerns of being attracted to someone you dislike

like . asking for a friend

**jeno**

ITS DONGHYUUUUCK

JAEMIN OWES ME 20 BUCKS

**renjun**

i said FOR A FRIEND bitch

but yes . theoretically .

donghyuck

idk he’s been kind of mean

**jeno**

i mean i can give you advice ?

yeah he’s been mean

but people change a lot in a year

god, even 3 months can make a person unrecognizable

i say give him a chance

don’t lead him on though

just be civil

**renjun**

jeno

thank you

you can’t see but i am Very Happy right now

i’ll see you later?

**jeno**

yeah, yeah, wtv

go get your mans

(but don’t forget to Talk First)

——

Donghyuck’s near the front of the line when Renjun comes up to him and joins him. “What are you going to get?” Renjun asks Donghyuck. Donghyuck responds: “I honestly don’t even know. Probably just some snacks, I can never eat at competitions. What about you?”

Renjun frowns. “You can’t _not_ eat, Hyuck.” Donghyuck doesn’t register anything except for the nickname. _hecalledmehyuckhecalledmehyu-_ “Donghyuck. Are you still there?” Renjun asks, waving a hand in front of Donghyuck’s face.

“Huh? I mean, yeah, I’ll be fine. I did it with Jaemin all the time. Here, we’re next, get something for yourself.”

Once they finish buying their food, they settle down under their team’s tent. Renjun opens his salad. Takes a bite. Chews. Notices Donghyuck watching. “Hyuck, that’s creepy,” he complains, hand over his mouth. “You’re literally just watching me eat.”

“I had a question for you.”

“Shoot.” Renjun takes another bite of his salad.

“Why were you always so mean to me?” Donghyuck asks. Renjun chokes. He grabs his water and chases away a violent coughing fit. “You know, when Jeno told me to talk to you, I didn’t expect that it would come around so soon,” Renjun says to Donghyuck, still wheezing a little.

“Sorry,” Donghyuck says, not sounding very sorry at all. “I was just curious.” They settle into a slightly awkward silence.

“You remember our first circuit tournament last year?” Renjun asks, out of the blue.

“Yeah?” Donghyuck says. “I remember winning best speaker.” He smirks a little. “Or is that too sensitive for you?”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Of course you would bring that up, fucker. I was never mad at you over _not winning._ I’m not as competitive as you are, one of you is enough.” He pauses. “ _Anyways,_ I got upset because you made fun of my speaking with Kevin as we were walking out.”

“Kevin?” Donghyuck scrunches his face up. _Who’s Kevin?_

“Kevin Lim? Moved to the Bay Area over the summer? You were, like, making fun of my stutters during the round that you observed.”

“Oh my _God_ I remember now… Damn, Jun, I’m really sorry. I, like kept rubbing it in, too.” Donghyuck looks so guilty that Renjun has half a mind to rub it in even more, before he decides that that would be too mean.

“It’s fine, Hyuck. Don’t fret about it.” He holds his fist up for a fist bump. “We cool now?”

“Yeah.” Donghyuck fist bumps him. They eat the rest of their lunch in relative peace.

——

The rest of their day is mostly uneventful. Donghyuck has to head home before awards, so Renjun decides it’s kind of pointless to stay without his partner. Johnny sends live text updates through the PF group chat: they win the day 3 to 1.

Tuesday afternoon comes around and they go up and get their medals from Mr. Do and Principal Bae. There’s some insincere applause from the speech division and some _very_ sincere applause from the rest of public forum. Donghyuck and Renjun get their medals and sit down and everyone’s eyes are off them, except— Except Mark is still looking their way, confused.

Once Johnny directs them to their rooms, Mark walks up to them and sits at the desk across from them. “So, uh… did anything happen this weekend?” he asks the pair.

Renjun taps Donghyuck’s hand under the table before responding. “No? Nothing happened, Mark, we’re just being civil to each other like normal people. Or are you implying that we can’t do that, either?”

Mark starts turning pink. “No, um, it’s not like that, you were just being weirdly comfortable with- you know what, forget I said anything.” He walks back to his own table.

Renjun turns to Donghyuck and whispers, “How long should we keep pretending for… it’s really funny but I feel bad.”

Donghyuck whispers back: “Let’s just do today, okay? I know that Jeno and Jaemin know already but I wanna see how many other people we can fool.” He leans away from Renjun with a surprisingly convincing expression of annoyance. “What an asshole,” he stage-mutters, turning away from Renjun to get his laptop out of his backpack.

Renjun mirrors his expression as he goes to get his own constructive drafts out. “I’m not _deaf,_ Donghyuck,” he spits. He catches Mark’s eye-roll as he turns back to his own papers, telling him that they’ve succeeded in fooling everyone else.

——

**donghyuck**

wassup renjun

wanna come over to work on the cases

i still have the flow papers from sunday

**renjun**

yeah sounds good

when are you free?

**donghyuck**

you wanna do saturday morning

cause i need friday afternoon to finish up the calc homework

ms park is amazing but like

i have So Much HW in calc

**renjun**

yeah cool

i can help you with calc tho?

if you want?

just an offer though

**donghyuck**

omg jun

ur a lifesaver

mwah

Renjun puts his phone down. _Donghyuck just texted me ‘mwah’ what does this mean am I overthinking it? Please don’t let me be overthinking it._

**renjun**

heyyyy jeno

**jeno**

he

**renjun**

/anyways/

i’m not interested in you

i’m interested in hyuck

what does it mean when they text you “mwah”

**jeno**

omg????

no wait

i need context

send me an ss

**renjun**

[image attached]

**jeno**

junnie . baby .

i love you

but you might need to lay it on a little thicker

he’s just being casually homo you know

its better than being no homo-ed!

but . you gotta know that gays can’t flirt

**renjun**

see i told myself i was overthinking it

also

if i’m a gay

and gays can’t flirt

how tf am i supposed to flirt with donghyuck

**jeno**

and that’s where my job ends !

grabbing the popcorn hehe

brb

**renjun**

nono :(

i hate you

just a little tho

——

**donghyuck**

[image attached]

JAEMIN

I FUCKED UP

**jaemin**

right so

what did you do this time

**donghyuck**

open the image >:|

**jaemin**

i don’t see anything wrong with it?

hyuck what are you on

**donghyuck**

i just.

said ‘mwah’

did i expose myself

does it even count as flirting?

**jaemin**

i? wouldn’t worry about it?

it’s pretty subtle

unless you /don’t/ wanna be subtle

in which case

full steam ahead

**donghyuck**

you know

i was afraid of exposing my self

but that is, in fact, a very good idea

i shall Flirt

**jaemin**

YES DONGHYUCK

go do that !!!

——

Saturday morning, Donghyuck doesn’t wake up until Renjun rings the doorbell. Renjun knows this because he opens the door looking like he just rolled out of bed. His shirt is inside out and his hair is sticking up and Renjun just wants to squish his face.

“Hi,” Donghyuck says, running a hand through his hair. His cheeks are slightly pink.

“Hi,” Renjun responds. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, my parents are out shopping with my brother. Let me just go… brush my teeth really quick? My bedroom is the second door on the left after you go upstairs.”

Renjun heads up the stairs while Donghyuck heads somewhere else, presumably to the bathroom. He enters Donghyuck’s room and sits himself on the bed. It’s a surprisingly clean room, walls bright with posters and pictures, and well lit, with sunlight flowing in through the blinds. It makes Renjun feel peaceful.

Donghyuck swings the door open and walks in. “Sorry about that, God, that’s so embarrassing. I just woke up.” His shirt is no longer inside out and his hair is now flopping neatly over his forehead, but Renjun still wants to squish his face.

“Don’t worry about it, Hyuck. Do you want to go over the Calc homework first or do you wanna refine the block files?”

“We can do block files, probably, I don’t think I have much Calc left anyways. Our neg against aff one is the weakest right now, so we can probably look at that?”

“Sounds good.” Renjun looks around. “Do you have an outlet anywhere? I forgot to charge my laptop last night.”

“Yeah, there’s one on the wall right next to the bed.” Donghyuck says. Renjun plugs in his laptop before pulling out his mouse and his own papers.

“So, right now, our blocks against multilateralism and EU recession are kinda weak. There was this one source I found a couple days ago that I wanted to make a card out of? Johnson something, I think I copied the link at the end of our file…” Renjun opens his laptop and logs in.

“Is it this one?” Donghyuck asks from his desk. “The headline is like, ‘The EU Will Not Head Into Recession In The Near Future,’ or something?”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Renjun says, not looking up from his laptop screen. He furrows his eyebrows. “I can’t find it on my doc, can you copy it into the shared file?” Donghyuck nods in acknowledgement. “Yeah, here it is.”

“Did you know that Mark finally asked Lucas out?” Renjun says, suddenly. Donghyuck whips his head up faster than Renjun thought humanly possible. “Really?” Renjun nods.

“Mark finally fucking grew some balls, oh my God.” He pauses. “He didn’t even tell me? How do you know? Do you _know_ how much ranting I had to put up with before the kid would even listen to me?”

“Lucas told me, it’s supposed to be on the ‘down low’ or something.” Renjun makes air quotes with his fingers. “I told you cause I figured you and Mark are close enough for you to know,” Renjun adds.

“Damn, to be not-single and in love,” Donghyuck sighs. “What a blessing.” _Did Donghyuck fucking read my mind?_ Renjun thinks.

“I know, right? And here I am, single and lonely…” Renjun trails off. “I mean, it’s all for the better, I guess.”

Donghyuck just glances over, an unreadable expression on his face. “Yeah, I guess. Hey, we should probably work on drafting that card now. We’ll eventually get called on it, at the rate this is going.”

They work in silence for quite a bit, before Donghyuck pipes up. “Oh my gosh, it’s been almost one-and-a-half hours, what the fuck. Do you want something to eat or drink, Renjun?”

Renjun picks his laptop up and sets it on the carpet in front of him, before stretching his arms back. Donghyuck’s eyes are drawn to the sliver of skin peeking through Renjun’s t-shirt and his jeans, before he realizes what he’s doing and snaps his eyes back up to Renjun’s face.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Renjun says, standing up. “Lead the way, Mr. Lee.” He follows Donghyuck out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen.

Donghyuck opens up the fridge and squints into it. “We have… banana milk? That’s definitely Taeyong’s… and there’s orange juice? And then there’s the cookies he made yesterday in the oven.”

Renjun shrugs. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Kay, then, we’re having Taeyong’s milk cause I wanna piss him off. I’m still mad at him for stealing Jaemin away from me.” Donghyuck takes out two bottles of milk and puts a cookie on each of the two plates he’s set out. “Do you wanna eat here or upstairs?”

“Here, please, oh my god. I don’t think I can even look at my laptop right now.” Donghyuck nods in acknowledgement and takes the food to the table. Renjun starts eating a cookie, cheeks puffing out.

When they finish eating and chatting, they sit in silence for a bit, before Renjun asks Donghyuck, “Hey, where’s the bathroom?”

Donghyuck points down a corridor. “Down that hall, last door,” he says. “I’ll wait for you upstairs?”

Donghyuck race up the stairs, a man on a mission. He unplugs Renjun’s mouse from his laptop and puts it on his desk. When Renjun pads in softly, socked feet noiseless against the carpet, Donghyuck is the picture of diligence.

Renjun sits down on Donghyuck’s bed and opens up his laptop, reaching for his mouse, before he realizes that it isn’t there. “Donghyuck? Have you seen my mouse?” he asks, voice so soft that Donghyuck almost ( _almost!_ ) regrets taking it. He looks at Donghyuck with big doe eyes.

Donghyuck picks up the mouse and waves it around, reaching high with one hand when Renjun lunges at him. Renjun’s so short that, even when he’s reaching, the tips of his fingers barely touch Donghyuck’s wrist. Renjun throws a quick glance around, before turning and pushing Donghyuck onto the bed. Renjun lands with a small _oof_ on top of Donghyuck, and grabs the mouse out of his hands. He grins triumphantly, ready to lord it over Donghyuck.

When he glances down, though, the words fly straight out of his mouth. Donghyuck’s mouth is slightly parted, blush high on his cheeks and eyes blown out and then- oh. _Oh._ Only then does Renjun realize the position that they’re in. _I’m basically fucking straddling Donghyuck motherfucking Lee—_

and he scrambles off faster than he can think.

“Oh my God, shit, Donghyuck, I’m so sorry— ”

“No, yeah, you’re fine, it’s okay,” Donghyuck says, still slightly dazed.

Renjun glances at the clock on Donghyuck’s desk. “This is like literally the worst possible time, but I have to go home— ” He starts backing out the door of Donghyuck’s room. Donghyuck follows, a strange expression on his face.

“Renjun, you’re fine. Don’t worry. Do you want me to walk you home?” They start walking down the stairs.

Renjun opens the front door. “No, um, I’m good. I’ll see you around, though?” _As if I would accept after fucking doing_ that. _This is so embarrassing._ He lifts a hand in farewell and then drops it, not looking back until he hears the door shut.

——

**renjun**

nonooooo

i’m so dumb D:

i went and met up with donghyuck today

and

wait this is a bit tmi

**jeno**

what are friends for

keep going

**renjun**

basically he stole my mouse

and i ended up on top of him

compromisingly

u know.

it was Bad

AND THEN I HAD TO LEAVE

**jeno**

:0

when u said u were dumb

i didn’t think it was that bad

just like?

ignore it?

and hope he does too, i guess

or try to explain it ?? idk if you’d be up for that

Or Wait

just lay the flirting on

cause

the UST between you reeks

**renjun**

what was that??

i can’t hear youuuuu

bye :D

——

Donghyuck is… confused, to say the least. Renjun is pretty- he knew this. He has also, in the last few hours, re-discovered that Renjun is Very Hot. But Renjun is also smart and witty and sarcastic and _kind_ and Donghyuck kind of can’t handle this right now. He pokes his head into Taeyong’s room. “Can I come in?”

Taeyong looks up from his phone, then sits up on his bed. “Yeah, sure. What’s up? You never even talk to me anymore.”

“Uh… boy problems, I guess,” Donghyuck walks in and plops down by Taeyong. “How did you and Jaehyun even end up together? It seems so unlikely…”

Taeyong smiles and flops backward, hair splaying out beneath his head. He has a dopey smile on his face and Donghyuck has half a mind to make fun of it, before he remembers that he needs advice. Taeyond opens and closes his mouth, thinking. Finally, he says, “It was really all Johnny, you know? Like I was a nerd, and Johnny was basically my only friend, but Johnny was also a literal social butterfly and knew _everybody—”_ Taeyong takes a breath “—and Jaehyun was in my calc class and I kinda though he was cute and Jaehyun thought I was cute and—” another gasp “— that was that. All Johnny, my dude.”

Donghyuck sighs. Taeyong smiles. “So, Hyuck… boy problems?” His smile grows into a cheshire-cat grin. “Would this have anything to do with a certain Renjun Huang?”

Donghyuck narrows his eyes. “I still haven’t forgotten about you stealing Jaemin away,” he says. Taeyong holds his hands up in surrender.

“Anyways, yeah. It’s Renjun.” He flops backwards, mirroring Taeyong’s position. He stares at the glow-in-the-dark stars that Taeyong put on the ceiling when they were kids.

Taeyong’s looking at him fondly. “Don’t worry about it, okay, Hyuckie? Just, like let it happen. Or make it happen. Whatever your vibe is.” He rolls over, onto Donghyuck’s front, and pokes his cheeks. “Let yourself have fun.” He pushes himself off of the bed and walks out.

Donghyuck looks back up at the peeling stars. He wonders what it would be like to hold Renjun’s hand.

——

Renjun wakes up Monday ready to kick ass. (Get ass. Same difference.) He goes through three outfits that make him look like the WBOTM (white boy of the month) before he decides that this is useless. _Donghyuck_ should _like me for my personality, not my looks. Right?_ He settles on another nondescript t-shirt and one of his last clean pair of sweats. He gels his hair back. He’s ready for this.

**renjun**

do you wanna walk to school together?

jeno has mun practice monday mornings

i usually walk alone then

but i’m lonely :(

**donghyuck**

i mean i’ll walk with you if you want

or . you know . taeyong can drive us

**renjun**

but :( i :( wanna :( spend :( time :( with :( you D:

**donghyuck**

omg have you always been this adorable

clingy

okay i’ll walk to school with you

**renjun**

:D

——

**renjun**

mission accomplished jeno

thank you for ditching me i guess

EVEN THOUGHT U STILL. FUCKING COME TO DEBATE PRACTICES

i get to walk with hyuck :D

[image attached]

be my hypeman when u get out of the mun advisors room

love you see you

Renjun runs down the stairs to eat breakfast. There is no breakfast food. He eats a cookie.

**donghyuck**

hey im outside

**renjun**

coming !

Renjun opens the door, backpack in tow, just as Donghyuck is lifting his hand to knock. “Hey,” Donghyuck says.

“Hi,” Renjun says. The awkwardness is stifling. This is not going the way Renjun wants it to go. “Let’s go the long way. We have time,” he says, glancing at his phone. When Donghyuck doesn’t move, Renjun grabs his hand and pulls him along.

——

 _He hasn’t let go of my hand. He’s not letting go of my hand oh my god what does this MEAN—_ Renjun's cheeks are red from the cold and he’s talking happily about what he did on Sunday and _oh, Donghyuck is_ whipped.

Renjun interrupts his thoughts with a concerned “Hey, Donghyuck, are you okay? You’re looking a little red.” Donghyuck almost buys into the charade until he sees the tiny mischievous glint in Renjun’s eyes. Donghyuck speaks without thinking. “Of course I’m okay, Junnie, I’m here with you, right?” he says, pouring every last bit of sincerity into the words.

It has the intended effect- Renjun drops his hand with a small _eep!_ and looks away, flushed. Donghyuck grabs his hand again and says, “Cute.” Renjun tightens his grip on Donghyuck’s hand.

“What class do you have first, again?” Donghyuck asks as they approach the front gate.

Renjun snaps out of a daze and lets go of Donghyuck’s hand. “Uh, I have Calc with Choi.”

“Oh, Park is right next door. You wanna walk up together?”

Renjun nods. As they walk across the campus, Renjun keeps looking at him. Away. At him again. Donghyuck just wants to tell him to spit it out.The first bell rings. Donghyuck stops in front of Mr. Choi’s room. “I’ll see you at lunch, Jun?” Renjun lifts a hand and walks in. Donghyuck walks to Ms. Park’s room. _Is calc homework a good excuse to see Renjun again?_ he thinks.

——

**donghyuck**

renjun

do you have time at lunch today

i don’t get optimization

at all

help me

**renjun**

texting during class ? smh

anyways yeah

we’ll meet in the cafe area though i need to eat

**donghyuck**

k cool

and says you

u responded

in /euro/

byun’s gonna kill u

**renjun**

nah b he loves me

k see you

——

Renjun walks out of third period annoyed and tired and absolutely despising biology. He’s incredibly happy when he remembers that he’s meeting up with Hyuck for the calculus homework.

**renjun**

hey i’m heading up rn

i’ll grab us a table

**donghyuck**

k i’ll grab lunch

be right there

Renjun gets a textbook from the library supervisor. “Hey, Kai,” he says.

Kai looks up from scanning the textbook and grins at Renjun. “Hey, Renjun.” He hands the textbook to him. “Have fun with calc, I guess?”

“Will do.” Rejun mock-salutes him and walks towards the cafeteria tables. Donghyuck is just coming up the stairs as Renjun puts his stuff down. Renjun waves him over.

“Hey, Jun,” Donghyuck says as he drops his backpack on the floor. It falls so heavily that Renjun looks down at it in shock. “What do you _have_ in there? You walked to school with that on your back?”

“It’s just my school stuff,” Donghyuck replies, plopping down into a chair. “Can you explain optimization to me?”

“Yeah, so basically, you’re trying to find the absolute maximum, or minimum, based on the problem. Remember, like, middle school MathCounts? When they’d have us solve for the maximum perimeter or whatever?” Donghyuck nods. Renjun continues, “So, yeah, it’s basically that. Except harder 'cause you have to do it with calculus.”

Donghyuck slowly puts his face into his hands. “Park is such a bad teacher, oh my god,” he moans, voice muffled. He lifts his head. “She’s an angel! I love her. But oh my god, that’s so easy, and she couldn’t explain it.” He puts his head into his hands again. Renjun looks amused.

“So, uh, do you still need my help?”

Donghyuck slumps down in his chair. “No, I guess not. Unless you want to eat with me? I have other homework to do.” He peeks out between his fingers. Renjun’s smiling softly at him. _God, I’m so whipped,_ Renjun thinks.

“Yeah, I’ll eat with you,” Renjun says. He brings out his thermos. Donghyuck pulls the lunch tray towards him.

“So, how far are you on that essay for Byun?” Donghyuck asks.

Renjun groans. “I don’t even want to think about that right now. I tried asking Jeno for help, too, and the dickwad left me on seen for like, 8 hours, and then changed the topic. How’s it coming for you? You do have Byun, right?” Renjun starts playing with Donghyuck’s hand.

Donghyuck swallows hard. “Yeah, I have him. I honestly haven’t gotten past the outline.”

Renjun stops playing with Donghyuck’s fingers. “You _outline_ your essays? Oh my God, Donghyuck Lee _tries_ in school?”

“Shut up, Renjun, this 4.4 GPA doesn’t come from flirting with my teachers.”

Renjun shrugs. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you studying. And everytime I come online to edit our doc, you’re already there. Like, I’ll want to write up a card, and then I’ll find that you’ve already done that and three more, too. It makes me feel inadequate.”

Donghyuck snorts. “It’s ‘cause PF is one of the only extracurriculars I actually care about, you know. I bet you have other things to do, but I don’t. So I just throw my life and soul into the one thing I do like.” His tone is light, but his eyes are an unreadable mix of sad and regretful. “It’s fine. That got unnecessarily deep.” Renjun strokes Donghyuck’s hand gently.

“I mean, If it makes you feel any better, it isn’t good to spread yourself out really thin, either. You’re good at what you do, and you should do what you like. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, Donghyuck.” Renjun smiles gently at Donghyuck. “Eat your lunch.”

——

**renjun**

state quals are this weekend

oh my god it just sunk in

/state quals/

holy shit hyuck

**donghyuck**

i can ask doyoung and johnny to debate against us

i don’t think they’re competing

just cause they’re really busy

but we can probably fit two rounds into practice on thursday

especially considering that we’re the highest ranked team after them

**renjun**

im just . stressed

is do letting us leave early friday afternoon?

**donghyuck**

yeah quals are like 1.5 hrs away

rounds start at 4

and everyone has to be accounted for by 3:30

so we can leave by the middle of 4th period

**renjun**

god bless

anyways i’m gonna just be drilling the speeches

considering memorizing

cause ~hands~

**donghyuck**

man i can’t believe you took the time to find the squiggly thing

**renjun**

it’s called a tilde?

we’re literally from socal

every fifth street name has it

well not really but .

**donghyuck**

ok no need to flex

mr. i can speak english korean mandarin and spanish

**renjun**

don’t forget i’m learning french

**donghyuck**

oh my god you're so irritating

i can’t believe we’re friends

**renjun**

i can’t HEAR you

my ears go deaf to the plebs

anyways bye forreal

i gotta go practice

**donghyuck**

have fun xox

[seen]

Donghyuck smashes his face into a pillow and screams. _xox,_ he thinks. _I just_ had _to go and type xox._

_——_

**renjun**

jeno

i need help

how do you woo a man

**jeno**

that sounds Weird

**renjun**

fine .

how do i make donghyuck think i’m Hot

**jeno**

that i can help with >:D

(but you know.

we all know he already thinks you’re hot)

**renjun**

i’m, as you put it

“oblivious and in denial”

anyways

what is your plan good sir

**jeno**

we should dye your hair

**renjun**

what the fuck.

actually you dyed yourself blonde right ..

okay you have thirty seconds before i’m out

**jeno**

i have been eyeing this box of dark silver

for a Long Time

and you would look hot

full bromo

so . that’s all i got

**renjun**

okay

what do i have to do

**jeno**

come over after debate thursday

i’ll dye it

then just wear a beanie friday morning

i’ll show you how to style it

n you can practice for friday afternoon

**renjun**

i have several questions

what if you mess up

when will you have the time to buy dye??? its literally wednesday???

do i have to pay you

**jeno**

okay, in order

i won’t ; i already have it (hehe) ; no, bff duties

sounds good ?

**renjun**

fine …

i’ll come over thursday

thank you jeno ur the bestest best friend ever

**jeno**

quoting you on that !

go work on the english hw fool

byun’s gonna kick our asses

and then there’ll be no hair on your head left to dye

[seen]

——

Jeno’s shifting on his feet outside of the classroom. Renjun watches him, amused. Donghyuck leans over, whispering as to not interrupt the round they’re (supposed to be) spectating. “What’s so funny?” he asks.

Renjun whispers back, “Jeno’s waiting for me outside and he looks like an impatient toddler.”

Donghyuck glances out of the window and smirks. “You should probably go and get him.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later?” Donghyuck nods. Renjun raises a hand in goodbye to Kun and Johnny and pushes the door out.

“Hey, Renjun,” Jeno says. “Ready for this?” he asks with an unnervingly bright smile. Renjun nods.

——

“Ow, shit, it stings!” Renjun yelps. “You fucker,did you dye your hair this messily?”

Jeno winces. “I am so sorry Jun, wait, let me get Doyoung—” he runs out of the bathroom, presumably to Doyoung’s room. Renjun hears frantic knocking and then two pairs of footsteps approaching him. Doyoung swings open the room, followed by a meek-looking Jeno.

As soon as Renjun makes eye contact with Doyoung, he knows that he’s been seen through. “Don’t even say anything, Doyoung, just make sure I don’t look like Boo Boo the Fool tomorrow, oh my god—”

Doyoung hold his hands up in surrender. “I got it, I got it. But, you know, I’d consider being nicer to the person who has your appearance in their hands…” he trails off.

Renjun can sense the fear growing in his own eyes. “Doyoung Kim, I swear I will kill you with my bare hands if you don’t get ready to work this fucking instant—” Doyoung clamps a latex-gloved hand over his mouth. “Shut up,” he says gently. “You’ll look great, stop worrying.”

After a lot of waiting and washing (and more discomfort), Doyoung’s finally done. Renjun pushes a hand through his hair. “Gosh, Doyoung, Jeno, thank you so much…” They smile at him.

Jeno says, “Man, if Donghyuck doesn’t grow a pair after seeing you like this, I’ll date you myself, Renjun. You look really good.”

Renjun frowns. “Two-way consent, my dude. Anyways, I gotta go now- I’ll let myself out. See you later?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeno waves him off. “Have fun tomorrow!”

——

**johnny**

buddyboy

i am outside !!!

where r u

**hyuck**

johnny u type like a 40-yr-old bachelor uncle

i’ll be right out

Donghyuck forces on his dress shoes and walks out the door. Johnny’s car is parked in the driveway, but it’s locked. Donghyuck peeks in through the window.

Johnny’s dancing to… something. Donghyuck knocks on the window. “Open the door, Johnny!” he yells. Johnny glances up, face comically shocked. Donghyuck hears the car unlock and walks around to the passenger seat. “Sometimes I really think you _are_ my weird old uncle, you know.”

“Hey! Be nice to me, I could probably kick you out of the club if I wanted to.” Johnny starts the engine.

“Right, Gramps. You doing Parli or PF this time?”

“Doyoung had a concert, so I’m actually not participating. Plus, its my senior year anyway, I don’t want to make quals more difficult on the other teams when it isn’t even gonna benefit me.”

Donghyuck snorts. “Right. So generous.”

Johnny glances sideways. “Don’t mock me, Donghyuck, I’ve got information on you too. How are things going with Renjun.”

“It’s actually pretty okay. We’re getting along better than I expected.”

“Not what I meant, Hyuck. _How_ are _things_ going.”

“Oh. _Oh._ You mean like that. Yeah, well, that’s not as good, but what can you do, yanno.”

“Right, well, don’t let it mess you up, okay? Communication is important,” Johnny says, face devoid of humor.

“I’m seriously considering calling you Grandpa all the time now.”

“Shut up, Donghyuck. Do let me out of school for you little shits , be grateful.” Donghyuck mimes zipping his lips shut.

When Johnny finally pulls over to the curb in the drop off zone, Donghyuck is _ready_ to leave. “Bye, Gramps, I’ll see you later!” he yells into the window. Johnny’s already pulling away, but Donghyuck catches a glimpse of his expression and winces. _He’s gonna hold that over me later._

Donghyuck turns towards the front gate and breaks into a jog towards their tent.

Sees Renjun. Stops short.

 _Oh my God his hair is silver he has silver hair—_ Donghyuck finally zones back in when he sees Renjun’s concerned expression. “Hey, Hyuck, everything good there?”

“Um, yeah, just—” Donghyuck swallows hard “—your hair, it’s, uh, silver?”

“Oh.” Renjun looks self-conscious. He touches his hair embarrassedly. “Does it not look good?” he asks, pinking.

“Oh, no, you look fucking fantastic, it looks awesome on you, I was just—”

Doyoung steps in between the two of them. “As much as I love watching the two of you gay-panic over each other, Kun’s been ranting about ‘incompetent underclassmen’ for the last 10 minutes, so I’d really appreciate if the two of you got your asses registered and checked off.” He walks off.

Donghyuck glances at a still-blushing Renjun. “I meant it, you know. Your hair looks really good.” _And I also really want to kiss you senseless right now but that clearly isn’t happening, so._

Renjun smiles. “We should, like, probably go sign in with Mr. Do.”

——

**donghyuck**

jeno

u absolute badass

i would like to thank you for your services to the gays

renjun looks really good

**jeno**

all for you, buddy ;)

but fr it wasnt rly me

more doyoung than anything

and u already thought renjun was hot so

**donghyuck**

i plead the fifth

**jeno**

good luck competing today and tomorrow

do well (:

**donghyuck**

i feel threatened

**jeno**

(:

——

Renjun takes a picture of the posting sheet and walks back towards their team tent. “Hey, Donghyuck, we’re against some Young kids first flight. You ready to go?”

Donghyuck is under a table, getting something out of his backpack. “One sec,” he calls out, voice muffled. He peeks out from underneath the table. Renjun thinks he looks like a prairie dog, cheeks puffed up with food. “Yup! All ready,” Donghyuck says, somehow _not_ spewing crumbs everywhere. Renjun helps him off of the ground and they walk towards the building together.

As they wait near their room, another team approaches them. “Are you guys flight one for 209?” one asks, grinning.

“Yeah, that’s us. Are we going against you?” Renjun asks, sticking a hand out for them to shake.

“Yup!” he takes Renjun’s hand. “My name’s Felix, and my partner is—” Felix looks down at his partner and nudges his leg with his shoe. The partner looks up from their laptop and flashes a peace sign. “Jisung,” he says, before going back to work.

Felix smiles apologetically. “He’s shy. Your names?”

“I’m Renjun, and he’s Donghyuck.” Renjun points to Donghyuck, who’s hopping around the hall trying to fix his shoe. “Just _sit down,_ Donghyuck, it’s not that hard!” he calls out. “Well, good luck, I guess,” he says to an amused looking Felix.

——

“As aff, you may have the first question,” Jisung says. Renjun can feel the panic radiating from Donghyuck.

Donghyuck grabs Renjun’s flow paper. and scans it. “Um, yes. My question for you is whether you have a question for us.”

Renjun stops flowing and looks around, eyes wide. Felix has also put down his pen and is staring at Renjun, vaguely shocked. The judge leans back, a slight smile on their face.

Jisung reshuffles his papers. “Uh. Well. Yes?” He snatches Felix’s flow paper. “Are you aware that China’s coal and oil projects have been proven to be detrimental to the environment in the long run?”

Donghyuck straightens. “Do you have a card for that?”

Renjun watches Donghyuck’s cross, mesmerized. It occurs to him that he should probably flow, but he ignores that in favor of watching. _I’m still technically paying attention, right?_

——

They exit the room after thanking the judge and packing up. As they begin walking back, Renjun opens his mouth to ask _what in the world was that cross question._ He’s interrupted by Felix tapping Donghyuck on the shoulder. “Bro! That was such an epic cross question, I don’t think I’ve _ever_ heard someone pull that in round before. If you don’t get a thirty, then, man, that judge is just straight stupid.”

Donghyuck grins. “Right? I was panicking so hard, I couldn’t think of anything else.”

Jisung falls into line with them. “Honestly. I was like, ready to zone out for a bit, and then you put me right back into the spotlight and I was so ready to square up. Renjun, you did really well too, that weighing in your final speech was absolutely—” Jisung mimes doing a chef’s kiss. “Really, though, that was a close round.”

“Thanks, Jisung. Do you guys have instagrams?”

Felix nods. “I’ll type both of ours in if you give me your phones?” Donghyuck fishes his phone out of his blazer pocket and hands it over, as does Renjun.

After a moment, Felix smiles and hands their phones back. “Peace. I’ll see you guys around!” he says, walking off with Jisung.

Renjun groans and lays his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder. “Hyuck, I’m _so hungry_ I haven’t even done anything all day _please—_ ”

“Get off my shoulder, then, we can go eat,” Donghyuck says.

Renjun straightens up and grabs Donghyuck’s hand. “Hurry up?” he says as if it was self explanatory.

——

“Renjuuuuun!! Donghyuuuck!” Chenle barrels towards them. “Postings for rounds three and four are up!”

“Do you have a picture, Lele?” Renjun asks.

“Yeah, I do. Wanna see?”

“No, I just asked because I wanted to.” Renjuns says sarcastically. “Duh, I wanna see!”

Chenle squeezes onto the bench between Renjun and Donghyuck. “Looks like you guys are flight one for round three and flight two for round four… and against Young and then TCA.” Chenle whistles. “You guys must have won both rounds one and two to be going against them… Good luck, guys!” He walks off, presumably to tell the rest of the pairings about their matches.

“So. TCA, huh?”

“ _Not_ ready for that one, honestly,” Donghyuck says, shaking his head. “Might have to pull another quick one on them.”

“They’re so stuck up, though. If we get one of the worse teams we could probably tip it to our favor.”

“I mean, yeah, I guess. Get your stuff ready, we should probably go since we’re flight one.”

——

Donghyuck puts his face onto the desk. Their proctor looks up, a vaguely concerned expression on their face. Renjun jabs Donghyuck in the shoulder. “ _Get up!_ ” he hisses.

“Don’t wanna,” Donghyuck whines into the table. “I did so baaaaaad.” Renjun hears the proctor chuckle faintly.

‘Well, we can worry about that outside, then? Hurry up?” Renjun continues prodding Donghyuck.

“Okay, okay, fine, stop poking me, I’m coming!” Donghyuck says as he grabs his bag. “I’m just mad at myself, you know,” he continues as they walk out the door. “I’m like, supposed to be good at improv and on-the-spot stuff, and I just totally blanked this time, and I feel bad about it.”

“Do you wanna maybe go mope together instead of heading back to the rest of them? I’ll make sure that Johnny doesn’t worry about us?”

“I mean, this was our last round…” Donghyuck says, but he still looks doubtful.

“Are you trying to convince me or you?” Renjun asks. “I saw an ice cream place not that far from here, if that helps you with your decision at all?”

Donghyuck groans. “How far is ‘not that far?’ Cause I can’t drive us anywhere…”

Renjun smiles mischievously. “Walk with me to the parking lot?” he says, starting to walk. Donghyuck follows him. They walk in peace for a little bit, until Donghyuck notices that the parking lot is basically deserted.

“Renjun, there’s literally, like, two cars here. And one of them is the security’s golf cart and there’s no way you drive a fucking Model Y?”

“Um. Well. About that.”

“Oh my God, Renjun, you sexy beast, you drive a _Tesla?_ Are you like, secretly loaded?”

Renjun is turning pink at an alarming rate. “It’s just a nice car, okay? And, like, it’s electric?”

“Okay, but I’ve always wondered. Do Tesla owners, like, actually charge at Targets? Or is that like an urban myth or something?”

“Donghyuck, for the love of God, get into the car, please.” Renjun opens the passenger door for Donghyuck. Donghyuck fake swoons before getting in.

They drive in silence for a bit, before Donghyuck pipes again. “Are your seats heated?”

“Donghyuck, _shut up.”_

——

“Donghyuck, what flavor do you want?”

“Can I have sprinkles?”

“Yes, but _what flavor do you want?”_

“Birthday cake!” Donghyuck grins down at Renjun. “What are you getting?”

“Mint chocolate,” Renjun responds as he slides his credit card to the cashier.

“Ew. Wait, no, you’re paying for me right now. I’ll wait until you’re not sugar daddy-ing for me anymore to criticize your tastes in ice cream.” The cashier shoots them a weird look. Renjun sighs.

“Your total is $7.57, sir,” the girl behind the counter says. “By the way, the two of you are really cute together. Have a good day!” Donghyuck sputters. Before he can say anything, though, Renjun drags Donghyuck out the door and into the back seat of his car.

“Will you get mad if I drip ice cream onto your fancy leather seats, Junnie?” Donghyuck makes exaggerated puppy eyes at Renjun.

“No, I won’t, Hyuck, you’re just going to have to clean them up yourself.” Renjun rolls his eyes. “Do you have trash? I’m done with my cup.”

“Well, _I_ got a cone, so there’s no waste at all, Mr. I-Have-A-Tesla.”

“I need to find another way to say shut up, you’re so insufferable. I also _got_ you that cone?”

“Don’t be maaad at me, Junnie, I love youuuu~” Donghyuck coos. He turns his head to pet Renjun’s hair, and— _oh._ Their faces are right next to each other. Renjun freezes, eyes widening. Donghyuck jerks back. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry—”

Renjun grabs Donghyuck’s tie and leans back in. “Donghyuck Lee, do I have to do everything in this damn house? Are you ever gonna grow a pair?”

Donghyuck swallows, mouth dry. “Um. What?” he croaks out. _His face is really fucking close—_ Renjun interrupts Donghyuck’s train of thought with a light kiss. “That make any more sense to you?”

Donghyuck nods jerkily, still in shock. He can feel his heartbeat in his stomach.

He really wants to kiss Renjun again.

Donghyuck leans forward and kisses Renjun again, trying to pour out every thought that he can’t convey. (Currently, it’s a steady stream of _ohmygodohmygodohmygod—.)_ Renjun’s lips are on his and they’ve moved even closer than before, and _oh, Donghyuck is_ so _gone._

Renjun leans back. “This is okay, right?” he asks. His eyes are blown wide and his cheeks are flushed, and Donghyuck absolutely cannot think straight. ( _haha, straight. lol,_ some instinctive part of Donghyuck’s brain thinks).

Donghyuck wants to say something profound and romantic. Instead, what makes it out of his mouth is “You look really fucking hot right now.”

Renjun giggles. _Honest-to-fucking-god_ giggles. “So I’m guessing it’s okay, then?”

Donghyuck ignores Renjun’s question in favor of climbing into Renjun’s lap and threading his fingers through his hair. “You know, I’ve been wanting to do this since the first competition we went to as partners.” He pulls Renjun in, tugging his hair gently, and kisses him _hard_. Renjun’s tongue has gotten somewhere into the mix and its messy and wet and damn near perfect. Donghyuck pulls back, panting. “You taste like mint ice cream.”

Renjun smirks. “Yeah? Still denying that mint is the best flavor?”

“Shut up, oh my god.” Donghyuck leans his forehead against Renjun’s. The smile on Renjun’s face takes on an edge. “Make me,” he says, challenge evident in his voice.

Renjun’s phone rings. Donghyuck startles. Renjun fishes his phone out of his pocket and answers it, putting it on speaker. “Hey, Doyoung, what’s up?” He’s not able to hide the slight annoyance in this voice.

“Where _are_ you two? Awards are literally over and you guys fucking won 3-1 and neither of you were answering your texts and your car was fucking gone from the parking lot—”

Renjun glances at the time. “Oh my God, we actually missed awards? Holy shit, Doyoung, I lost track of time, we’re all good—”

“Hi Doyoung!” Donghyuck interrupts. “What’s up?”

“I don’t get enough volunteer hours for this,” Doyoung sighs, sounding absolutely _done_ even through Renjun’s tinny cellphone speakers. “I really don’t. By the way, Donghyuck, Johnny says he’s leaving you behind cause I’m going home with him. Renjun, please don’t wait for me. Bye!” Doyoung hangs up.

Donghyuck slides off of Renjun’s lap and into the seat next to him. “So, uh, what are we? Also can you take me home?”

“Um. Boyfriends, maybe?” Renjuns asks with a small smile, eyes hopeful.

Donghyuck’s about to agree, before another through crosses his mind. “No. I’m your sugar baby now.” he says, making exaggerated kissy lips at Renjun.

Renjun groans.

——

**bonus:**

Jaemin walks into Donghyuck’s practice room and immediately regrets every decision he has ever made. He walks right back out, squawking, hand firmly over his eyes. “What the FUCK were you two doing in there, when I said get rid of the UST _I didn’t mean make out in the damn practice rooms,_ what the _hell?!?_ ”

Donghyuck follows him out. “Nana, I’m _sorry!”_

Renjun stands at the doorway, looking like the cat who got the cream. “Well, _I’m_ not, so.”

Jaemin continues panicking. “I’m telling Johnny—”

“He already knows.” Renjun says.

“—Doyoung—”

“Him too.”

“—Jeno—”

“Yup.”

“ _What??”_ Jaemin turns on Donghyuck. “You told Nono before you told _me_?”

Donghyuck throws his hands up in surrender. “It was an accident, I swear—” He’s interrupted by Jaemin charging toward him with all the rage he can possibly muster in him.

Renjun is left trying to wrangle two angry high schoolers and a cello case out of the building.

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY THIS WAS: a Journey !! It's both the longest thing i've ever written and the work I'm most proud of.
> 
> I would like to thank Jess for betaing this- she's a god and I love her. Shoutout to the renhyuck public forum gc, especially Light Ash and Dark Ash. (there was no reason for the especially i just wanted to say your names.) This started as a fever dream and y'all put up with my snippets and endless questions so it could become a reality.
> 
> twt: fleurscng  
> cc: fairylele
> 
> please leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed this! it would mean the world to me


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